Threat to Sanctuary
by Nova Alexandria
Summary: A threat to Sanctuary sends Shikamaru, Temari and their Seika allies out to try and neutralize it to disastrous results. Part 2.
1. Chapter 1

-1Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto

Well here is the beginning of the small 2nd arch. Still not pleased with some of the later stuff and trying to clean it up.

Prologue

The mess hall was decorated, a band was playing, children were screaming and running around in their childish games while those of shinobi heritage were showing off their skills in a myriad of contests including shuriken throwing, chakra control, strength, and other such contest that could be done indoors with limited space.

"Hiya." Tenten yelled as she threw her shuriken at the target before her. The result was a complex picture of the Konoha, Suna, and Seika symbols etched into the target, that was behind her.

The watchers clapped in delight at the show of marksmanship. Tenten smiled as she turned to smile at the competition, who just stared at her with mouths gapped open like fools.

"Nice work." Neji commented as he handed her a drink.

"Arigato." She smiled at him as she accepted the dink.

It was hot in the room with a fire burning merrily to keep the winter chill out. She was wearing a dress loaned to her from one of the kunoichi of Seika. It was loose yet beautiful at the same time. And judging by the slight blush Neji was giving her, he found it rather endearing as well.

Dinner was just being set by a beaming Choji and the other cooks who had spent from morning until now in the kitchen, preparing the dinner for the five hundred people living in sanctuary, most of those five hundred were children, elderly, and non-shinobi civilians.

Accepting her prize for winning the contest, a small, kunai shaped necklace made by one of the two retired blacksmiths. With a grin she joined Neji and the table they were sharing with their companions from Seika.

Hinata was blushing deeply as Naruto held her in a warm embrace and handed her a small box with a nervous fox grin on his face. Off in a corner Ino and Keiji were also exchanging gifts.

Tenten sighed as she looked over at Lee and Sakura, who were also exchanging gifts. Most of the Seika shinobi were also exchanging gifts between each other. They had been expecting to be here for this holiday and had planned for it. The Seika shinobi were far more in tune with each other than the Shinobi from Konoha, though there was no doubt they had grown far closer over the months of running, fighting, hiding and planning.

It was the midwinter festival. As much as they were having fun, she wondered how her parents were doing back in Konoha. Were they permitted to celebrate? Were they even still alive? Heck, its been over four months since they had any communication with Konoha. For all they knew Konoha could have been freed by now, or everyone could have been killed.

Tenten absently drew a kunai that was attached to her leg and calmly sliced a good gash into Niku's hand as the hentai tried to make a move on Neji for the twenty-ninth time this night.

Like her, all of the others were dressed in traditional kimono's borrowed from their host. Shikamaru, for all his attempts at looking bored, couldn't take his eyes off of the woman who claimed his hand against his will.

Temari was stunning in her kimono, and the Nara protégée had a hint of a blush on his face as he kept glancing at his 'date' out of the corner of his eye.

Ino's sudden squeal caught Tenten's attention as she looked over at the Yamanaka girl, who had flung her arms around Keiji and was kissing his cheek over and over again before taking the necklace Keiji had giving her and tying the simple jade piece on a leather thong around her neck.

Tenten sighed. Hinata had Naruto, Sakura had Lee, Ino had Keiji. And what did she have? She was the only female of their group who wasn't attached. Hell, even Temari had Shikamaru, Hanabi had Konohamaru, and Udon had Moegi. All she had was her close friendship with Neji.

She would like to think he had something more for her, she knew she had something for him. Hell, she'd had a crush on him since their first year. Neji was not someone who was open with his feelings, and she knew and respected that. But still, sometimes it was nice to hear something endearing from him, maybe receive a small gift like the others had from their partners.

Hell, even Gaara received gifts, mostly from his family, which included Naruto, and even one from Meiyo. Sure, Lee gave her one, as did Hinata, who got one for everyone, but it wasn't the same. Hell, she got him one, and Lee of course since he was her team mate and all. She even got one for Temari, they had exchanged earlier that day.

But Neji, oh no he hadn't gotten anything for anyone as far as she could see. Not that he wasn't the only one. Nori and Sasuke were only here because they had been dragged in by Naruto and Niku. Both teens found the whole event troublesome.

She knew Shikamaru got something for Temari because Ino had made her assist in getting the lazy Nara off his rear and out to find a fitting gift, which seemed to include a lot of rings before Shikamaru finally found what he was looking for and managed to purchase it without letting them see it. Sneaky bastard.

Tenten's brooding was broken by the sound of a bell ringing. Silence enveloped the finely decorated hall as Meiyo set the bell aside and all eyes turned to face her. She was rather stunning in her black kimono wreathed in silver flames that starkly reminded Tenten of the Hyuuga Kaiten.

"First, I would like to thank the volunteers who help decorate the hall for tonight festivities. They have done a marvellous job."

A round of applause and cheers.

"Secondly, I would like to thank Tori-san for organizing the events and to the many people who donated prizes for the winners of the events."

Another round of applause.

"Lastly, I would like to thank our wonderful cooks, who have been slaving away in the kitchen these last few days to prepare this wonderful meal, as well as the hunters and trappers who went out to bring in as much meat and game as they could."

A louder round of applause followed by cheering.

Meiyo waited for the cheering to end before she bowed her head and spoke again.

"As we sit here and enjoy the food Kami had graced us with and the friends we have by our side, our thoughts still remain on those who are unable to be here tonight. Our friends and family who are fighting to protect Seika from the youkai army that marches against it. Let us raise a toast to those who are fighting for our freedom and to those who have lost their lives so that we may live free. To the Honourable Dead."

"To the Honourable Dead." Everyone intoned as they downed their drink.

Sake for the adults and teens, minus Lee, and juice for the children.

Meiyo sat down as Gaara stood up.

"I would like to thank the citizens of Seika for the hospitality they have to shown to myself and my siblings. As the Kazekage of Sunakagure I can not express how much the sanctuary you have offered me means to my nation and I hope that I will one day be able to repay the hospitality you of Seika have granted my family and I."

Another round of cheers and a toast.

"That was the most I have ever heard Gaara speak." Kankurou gapped, taking another drink.

Temari nudged Shikamaru, who just looked at her blinking. Finally, Naruto stood up instead to speak for Konoha, Sakura and Hinata having helped him prepare as they knew Shikamaru would never be able to do something so troublesome. He was a strategist, not a leader.

Since their arrival at Sanctuary, Naruto had been the one taking more and more charge, though he still referred to Shikamaru's intelligence. It was easy to see Naruto as Hokage with Shikamaru being the head of intelligence many years down the road. They were already starting to work in that capacity.

"My brothers and sisters of Seika. We have fought together, laughed together, and cried together. The history and distance that separated us can not keep our family apart, and it is with great joy that we of Konoha have discovered and regained a part of our family that we never knew we had.

"Meyio and the elders referred to us 'the lost ones,' separated from each other in a History few understand. If anything, this separation from each other has made us stronger, allowing both families to adapt and grow in different directions, so that when this glorious day of our reunion came, we would be all the stronger.

"My brothers and sisters, to the reunion of our families and the continuation of our strong connections with our brothers and sisters of Suna. To family."

"To family." The entire hall responded with a cheer.

"Trust Naruto to get a party started." Temari chucked.

"He's certainly something else." Keiji agreed with a smile.

The night went by with great celebration, many couples slowly disappearing through out the night as it continued. The children were left to sleep where ever they crashed, new toys and gifts clutched in their hands. All thoughts of the wars plaguing both groups temporarily forgotten.

* * *

This arch will take place completely with this group and will not deviate back to konoha. What goes on here has no bearing on Konoha and I felt that jumping between the two would be off balancing this little arch.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

-1Chapter 1

A new mission

"Tell me again why I agreed to do this?" Kiba asked.

"Because it was an order." Neji answered.

"Right. Tell me again why I am doing this?" Kiba asked again.

Neji decided not to answer. He was not too happy about this mission either, but an order was an order and Shikamaru was the one in charge at the moment. At least Meiyo had outfitted them with proper gear for the outing.

Shaded goggles protected their eyes from the sun glare and the outfits they were wearing not only kept them warm, but also allowed them to move with limited restrictions. The snowshoes they had to wear to keep above the snow were slightly annoying and took some time to get use to until they learned the art of walking on snow like those from Seika could.

They had been moving for a week already. The snow slowed them down considerably. Meiyo wasn't surprised by this at all, nor was her team. Neji just wanted to get back to Sanctuary and curl up with a blanket next to a fire, hopefully with Tenten to help keep him warm, though he would never admit it to his team mate and all contact was instigated by her and not him.

None of this showed outward of course. Outside he was just as calm as ever, inside he was contemplating if the cold hadn't shorted a few circuits in Shikamaru and Temari's brains. He was freezing and they still had a few miles to travel before they would stop for the night.

The mountain loomed up before them, silent and ominous. Something in the air was sending shivers up his spine. Yamanaka Kannon had long since ceased flying. Every time he and Talon took to the sky they were attacked by a murder of karasu.

Kannon had returned to Sanctuary and Neji silently envied him. The closer they got to the mountain, the more certain Neji was that something was wrong. It was different then the murderous chakra he felt from Gaara and Naruto when they let their youkai take over or come out.

If he had to try and make a call, he would say that this presence felt more evil, but less murderous then Shukaku and Kyuubi. It also felt bigger, as if there was more of it there. He had a very bad feeling about this.

Unbeknownst to him, Meiyo, Shikamaru, and Temari were feeling the same.

(brake)

She could tell the others were starting to flounder, so called a halt for the day. The three nininu and Tsume seemed unaffected by the cold weather. She was cold, but not freezing.

The others started to set camp. Kiba and Tsume gathered wood. Shikamaru, Keiji and Temari set the two tents. Neji, Genma, Genkaku, and Kageko headed out to set traps around the camp.

She studied the mountain while pulling food out of her bag for tonight's dinner. The entire place reeked of evil. The karasu had forced her to send Kannon back earlier then she had expected and the multitude of coyote tracks in the snow, and the absence of game, had her very much worried.

"Karasu youkai?" Keiji asked her as he joined her.

"Maybe. This seems stronger then any Karasu youkai I have ever encountered." She admitted.

"Coyote youkai?"

"Ile. Wrong feel. If I were to guess, I would say it is a Taiyoukai, though of what race I am not sure. One of trickery and manipulation."

"I say a Karasu taiyoukai. Just because we have never seen nor heard of one doesn't mean it won't exist. Kyuubi is coming to mind here." Keiji pointed out.

"Hai." Meiyo agreed.

The appearance of a nine-tailed Kiki-kitsune had never occurred until Kyuubi had reappeared before them, a four-tailed menace from their own past who had arrogantly named himself Kyuubi, 'ninetails,' and had lived up to his bold proclamation.

"What are you thinking?" Tsume asked as she appeared, Inuko and Inuka at her heals.

"Those karasu?" Meiyo asked.

"Normal karasu so far. They have only attacked Kannon in Talon's body, but Karasu are known to attack eagles, owls, and other birds of prey so it is hard to make a call. Either these karasu are flocking here because they are drawn by this youki, or they are being controlled and the controller is ordering them to behave normally." Tsume answered.

"Our noses are good, but if one controller bird is in that murder, we most likely won't pick up its scent buried beneath the rest." Inuko commented.

"Like trying to find a yellow rose in a field of daffodils." Inuka added.

"Have you seen one that stands out?" Keiji asked.

"Ile. It's like looking for an oak leaf amongst a field of birch leaves." She answered.

"Are we going to travel further?" Tsume asked.

Meiyo thought about it. This entire area felt wrong to her and the sense of a trap being set seemed like it was crawling towards her. This was only a recon mission to see if there was a threat to them. Instinct told her there was and she never doubted her instinct.

"Ile. We will return to Sanctuary tomorrow and gather a larger force. I don't trust this place, or whoever the master is." Meiyo decided.

"Good. I hate the cold." Temari commented.

Meiyo turned to look at the woman from Suna and noticed everything had been set and that everyone was watching her.

"Gomen," She smiled at them, "I got sidetracked."

"Care to fill us in on your observations?" Shikamaru asked, annoyance in his voice.

With a fire now going to provide warmth and shielded from prying eyes behind a screen, she handed everyone their stick of meat and bag of corn. The others listen in silence as she filled them in on her observations.

She still found it amazing that youkai were so rare where Shikamaru and Temari came from. Youkai were common here, from the small, harmless spirits to the larger, more powerful Taiyoukai. Or course, she had only heard of many of the marvels that Shikamaru's team spoke of.

Television, VCR's, electricity, and other such things sounded a lot like scrying spells, and other things that could be achieved using youki, or chakra. They spoke of lights that turned on and off with the flick of a finger. She was use to lights that lightened or dimmed when it sensed the chakra of a person, or could be changed with a touch of chakra.

Sakura had made a comment about how she had noticed the shinobi of Seika had far better chakra control then those from back home. If one needed chakra to turn a light on and off, then they would be practicing to do so since they were old enough to walk and would endeavor to make the task less challenging and chakra consuming.

Come to think of, Meiyo had been amused to notice that no few of the shinobi in Shikamaru's group had problems with the few chakra lights they had at sanctuary. Something a mere child with little training could do, Naruto, with all of his power, could not.

Naruto, stubborn as any Uzumaki she had ever known, had sat in front of the light for ten days until he got it down pact. The side effect was that he had developed even more chakra control. As a result he had hunted down others of Seika and got them to show him all of the little things they did with chakra.

Meiyo, being the only one other then Zihna and Keiji who knew how to make the lights, had decided to show him how. As a result the chakra lights now lighted a fair bit of Sanctuary.

The nice thing about chakra lights was that they produced no heat so a threat of fire was nullified. Naruto was determined to bring the trick back to Konoha and was already teaching Hinata, Gaara, Konohamaru and Henabi on how to make the lights.

Since no hand seals were needed, it was all how you moulded the chakra, the Sharingan could not copy it anymore then it could copy the Rasengan. The Rasengan was an amazing technique Naruto had shown them once as a demonstration and the chakra lights were a kind of application of that skill.

One took chakra and swirled it around in small space until the friction of the rubbing chakra resulted in light. The constant spinning would slowly develop into a miniature version of a super storm. A lock was placed on that prevented someone from lowering the storm speed too slow so it would wink out.

At minimum level, there was no light; at max it was very bright. One could lower the level to cause the light to be extinguished but they would have to break the lock first and that took power or cunning.

The skill trade between Zihna and Hinata was also going well, if not slowly. Zihna had no medical background to speak of, but with her little brother there, things were going better and he actually seemed interested in learning what Hinata was training.

Like Hinata, Zihna's little brother was not a strong fighter and always felt bad about it. He was the son of the Seikage and one of the weakest children in the academy with no talent when it came to combat at all.

Now he was the star pupil in Sakura and Hinata's class, Chiyu and Doku acting as assistants. Zihna had giving up after learning how to make field diagnostics, something very useful to on the field medics, and let her little brother take the spot light, praising him on each new accomplishment and glad he had finally found something he was good at.

The Seikage would be thrilled his youngest had finally found his calling and Meiyo couldn't have been more happy for her younger cousin. Medics were highly praised in Seika, even higher then ANBU as it took so much longer to train one, and he looked like he had the potential to become the head of the hospital one day.

Kannon and Ino were pretty much finished with their trading. Ino had learned rather fast and all that was left was experience, gained on their scouting and gathering flights.

Nori and Sasuke had spent a lot of training time together and she wondered what skills they were trading. She didn't need to warn Nori to be careful around a Sharingan user. Nori had trained with Keiji. He knew what to expect and was familiar with the Sharingan's ability to copy jutsu's.

Most of the others had trained together and a few new jutsu's had been exchanged, though none were trade secrets or highly devastating. Lee had been more then happy to train others with Taijutsu and had taken over every hopeless case he came across, some even having startling results. His love for children amazed her.

It was late, and most certainly time for bed. Kiba, Akamaru, Genkaku, and Neji would take first watch. The tent was big enough for all of them and the body heat provided would keep the worse of the cold off.

She envied Temari, nestled under Shikamaru and probably warmer then the rest of them. She wouldn't have her watch until later, when an attack was more likely.

(brake)

Neji woke with a start, one hand on his kunai as he leaped out of bed, or tried to. A heavy weight settled on him and the sound of snarling and snapping came from all around, as well as the sound of combat.

With his hands still wrapped in the sleeping bag, his movement was restricted and his hands were pinned by his side. No matter. He sent chakra spikes through his holes. His attacker yelped and shifted on him, but still refused to let him up.

"Byakugan." He declared.

The night lit up around him as his bloodline feat was activated. Above him he saw a small wolf, or what he took for one at first. This creature had hands and seemed slightly humanoid. The creature wore strange armor that had something flowing through it, something he had never seen before that appeared black to his sight instead of blue like chakra tended to.

He struggled against the creature, trying to dislodge it and get free while promising death on whoever was suppose to be on guard. The creature snapped its fangs at him and snarled. To his right he could see Shikamaru and Temari. Shikamaru was holding one arm, blood running down it in small rivers, while Temari bashed another creature over the head with her fan.

The sound of fighting came from all around him and he could see the others were engaged in combat with more of the small wolves and the murder of karasu they had been tracking.

Now he knew something was wrong. Karasu had no better night vision then falcons and yet they moved with no hindrance. Unlike normal karasu, these ones had eyes that were glowing red, as did the creature pinning him.

The creature spoke, taking him by complete surprise. What was said was lost to him since he didn't speak the language, let alone understand it. The creature spun him about until he was on his chest.

The spinning allowed him to get one hand free. He pulled the kunai and tried slashed out behind him. The creature caught his wrist with a furry hand that promised more strength then even Lee had.

Grinning, he sent out chakra spikes, his reward the howl of pain from the creature. The grip loosened and he finished driving the kunai home. Now somewhat free, he was able to get to his feet and lash out with his foot, sending the creature back a few feet.

He jumped away from the now shredded tent to give himself some fighting room. Loud screams came from the air and he launched into a Kaiten, tossing the Karasu that had dared to dive at him into all directions.

It was bloody cold and all he was wearing were his Pajamas and socks. He soaked almost at once and that began to freeze in the frigid temperature. He quickly sped up the chakra flow in his boy until the friction warmed him up, even while launching into another Kaiten to deflect the oncoming a swarm of karasu.

The entire area was swarmed by youkai. He had no weapons, all of it buried under the swarm where Temari and Shikamaru had been. With no choice, he made a tactical retreat and could only hope that he could meet up with one of the others and get something warmer to wear then this. He could only keep his chakra running through his body at an accelerated rate for so long.

(brake)

The attack was so sudden no one had time to prepare for it. The coyote's she had been expecting, but not the karasu, led by ten Karasu-youkai. She barely had time to shout a warning before the Karasu-youkai dropped ten coyote-youkai upon them, four landing on the tent and tearing through it with their claws.

Meiyo instantly countered the swarm of karasu diving at her with a kaiten, whipping up snow as she did so. Beside her Keiji already had two kunai in each hand and fighting to his fullest.

Tsume, Inuka, Inuko, Kiba, and Akamaru were whirling around and scattering the concentrations of karasu as they showed themselves, doing their best to stop them form ebign completely surrounded.

"Retreat." Meiyo snapped. "Back to Sanctuary."

"Hai." Those that were able to respond did.

Completely surrounded and outnumbered, she had no choice but to fight without restriction. Her byakugan was fully activated and every last pull of chakra was being utilized. Her kaiten was all that kept her from being pinned down.

With the wild spinning of the tsuuga, Kiba, Tsume, Inuka, Inuko, and Akamaru were already long gone and in the clear, or so she hoped.

Shikamaru, Temari, and Neji were still trapped in the tent but she had no way to get to them. She hadn't been able to see Genkaku or Genma since the attack. Keiji was already falling back with at least one pack of supplies.

She looked back at the tent. It was impossible to get there. Cursing inward, she joined up with Keiji, following the trail of destruction the Inuzuka's had left in their wake.

The horde of youkai and their servants didn't follow them. She didn't expect them to pursue them very far. With all of their gear back there, the chances of making it far were slim. The youkai would wait for the environment to wear them down before going after them again. They would have to run as far and as fast as possible before a second strike occurred or before the landscape killed them.

She could only hope that the others would be able to find their own way to freedom and that Genkaku was all right. She hadn't seen Kageko or Genma since the fight broke out and she worried for their safety as well.

(brake)

Shikamaru and Temari has been asleep when the assault had began. There was so little warning that it was a wonder they had even managed to get to their feet, and that had only been because Shikamaru had quickly used his Kagemane no Jutsu to freeze all the opponents around him, giving Temari time to get to her feet and armed.

Holding that many had been a huge strain, especially because he had snagged at least four youkai who had instantly assaulted his jutsu with their youki. With the close quarter fighting Temari wasn't able to initiate many of her stronger jutsu's

Having little choice, Shikamaru released his hold on the youkai, but did finish of the animals he had snagged, snapping their necks before completely dispelling the technique. Then he was fighting with nothing but his fist as two of the four youkai came straight for him.

Taijutsu was not his strong suit and this was perhaps the worse scenario he could possibly find himself in. He re-snapped up his kagemane no Jutsu on the two fighting him and turned then on the two fighting Temari. She used the distraction to finish one off of the four.

Shikamaru had no warning when something plowed into his back, forcing him to the ground and breaking his control. A blade was held to his throat and the creature snarled something to him in its native tongue.

A cry from Temari caught his attention. The three youkai had all jumped her at once, and like him Taijutsu was not her specialty. She managed to deflect two of them, but the third had her down on the ground and her fan went flying away from her grasp.

He struggled the best he could, but with their superior youkai strength it was like a two year old trying to fight against Gai. In short, it was impossible to win.

(brake)

The problem with genjutsu was that it rarely worked on higher-level youkai. It worked on the animals under their control and that gave him a bit of a leeway. This meant he managed to get out of the tent through a rip and managed to get a few feet away from the main assault area before the youkai in command took over where their servants failed.

Yuhi Genkaku fell into his stance, forming seals as fast as he could before letting lose with a high level, multi layered, Genjutsu trap. It took a lot of his chakra, but it did enable him to get a good head start.

Fusing chakra to his feet he leaped up onto the snow and ran as fast as possible. The big problem with his Genjutsu trap was that it didn't hit things that flew above it or went around it.

He drew his shiruken and fired them at the karasu flying down upon him. Several gave a dying squawk before collapsing dead. Snarling at his heals warned him of the threat on the ground.

He pulled several kunai and threw them, yelping letting him know he hit. He tried to form more seals to set another trap, but was unable to as he ducked under the diving strikes of the Karasu.

He was out of weapons. He spotted an uprooted tree, the roots forming a solid wall. It wasn't much, but it would let him put his back to something. When he spun around to face his pursuers, he suddenly wished he hadn't.

Like any hunter they had realized they had brought him to bay. Before him stood six coyotes and an unknown number of karasu. Their eyes were an eerie red and the sudden explanation as to how the damn Karasu could possibly see at night was answered.

"Redenrus." A voice commanded.

Genkaku felt a cold knot of fear hit his stomach as two karasu-youkai landed before him. They appeared like humans covered in black feathers with wings on their backs. They wore armor made from woven feathers and wielded whips and bows instead of the heavier katana's, kunai, or shirukens.

"Reven." He snapped back, falling into a defensive stance.

"Redenrus." The bigger one commanded again.

"Reven." He answered again.

Surrender to these creatures would be a fate worse then death. He had no plans on becoming a slave for their sick, twisted, desires. Both karasu-youkai pulled out their whips, etches in thorns and he felt that cold knot of fear grow. He had no weapon to defend himself.

The attack came from the Karasu first, diving towards him. The moment he lifted his arms to shield his face from the karasu's claws and beaks, the coyotes moved in, teeth grabbing his pant legs and ripping him off of his feet.

He fell onto his back and started lashing out with his legs while struggling to get to his feet again. He was rewarded with several whimpers as his feet connected with a few of the coyotes.

The coyotes, backed off, snarling and snapping at him from a mere meter away. He was halfway back to his feet when something wrapped around his arm, biting into it. He barely had time to notice before it ripped him off of his feet to land face first in the snow, drawing blood and tearing skin from his arm and the arm of his jacket to shreds.

He had just enough time to look up to see one of the Karasu-youkai coiling its whip back up before the coyotes were on him again. He lashed out with arms and legs to try and keep them at bay, but he was completely off balance now.

They leaped in, pinning him to the ground with their fangs and weight. His winter gear protected his skin from their fangs except for on the arm that had been shredded. He yelped in pain before grinding his teeth as the coyote's fangs bit down on his wrist, drawing even more blood to stain the snow.

Above him the flock of Karasu cawed their encouragement in mocking laughter. With the commotion over he looked up to see the two Karasu-youkai walking towards him, feather turfs on their heads raised in pleasure.

He tried struggling a few more times, but the extremely painful grinding of the bones in his wrist against the fangs of the coyote holding that hand elicited a scream of pain and he quickly stopped that.

That cold knot of fear that had been growing in his belly enveloped his entire body as the two youkai stopped before him.

"Ou loush evah deredenrus evals." The lead one mocked him. "niartser ti." It commanded.

The secondary youkai moved to his side and he tried to follow it with his eyes before the coyote holding his wounded wrist jerked it slightly. He hissed in pain and closed his eyes, determined not to scream.

The coyotes holding his legs down released him first, but were smart enough to lie on him to stop him from moving. The cold air touched his ankles just before something cold and metallic chinked down.

"Eh tsir si degamad Karkla, who doush em nairtser ti?" The creature asked.

Karkla, for that was the creature standing before him was named, seemed to think for several seconds before turning his attention back to him.

"Redenrus ro eid." Karkla declared finally.

Genkaku weighed his options. Rescue was likely to occur at some point, but he had no doubt that being a slave to these creatures would not be pleasant. Karkla gave him two minutes to think on it while the Coyote's whined and snarled impatiently. The karasu perched in silence.

"Lik ti." Karkla declared after two minutes.

"Wait." Genakaku shouted. "Tiaw." He shouted in their language, though they had paused after his first shout, understanding the meaning if not the words.

"Redenrus." Karkla declared again, and this time a hint of impatiens was in its voice.

"Se." Genkaku chocked out. "Se." He agreed.

The coyotes holding him down let him go and he stood up slowly, or tried to. The other youkai knocked him back down to his knees and hissed at him in anger.

"Len, evals."

He remained on his knees, cradling his wounded wrist and worried about infections. The youkai grabbed his good wrist and snapped a metal cuff on it. He looked at it in confusion until a metal headband was added.

All at once his chakra disappeared and his fear turned to panic. He tried to stand up again and was knocked down once more.

"Len evals." The youkai hisses at him again, this time louder and angrier.

While trying to get up he noticed his ankles were not restrained and he figured the same cuffs must be around them. The youkai pulled its own whip. He closed his eyes and trembled in apprehension expecting to feel the lash tear into him at any moment.

Instead the youkai used it to bind his arms to his sides in such a way that his wounded wrist was left free. Once satisfied, the youkai kicked his back, sending him face first in the snow. He didn't try to move, already the thorns were tearing his clothes and at least two were drawing blood.

His eyes shot open when something wrapped around his torso and jolting lifted him from the ground. He looked over his shoulder to see the smaller Karasu-youkai, now in its true form with a forty-foot wingspan. He was wrapped in the youkai's talons.

Looking down the swarm of karasu also took to the sky, acting as a noisy escort. Below him the coyotes were moving on their way.

His captors flew towards the mountains in a flight that was both painful and extremely freezing. He spotted the cave before they plunged into it and were enveloped in darkness, leaving the swarm behind. He didn't see light again until he was dropped on the floor rather abruptly.

Keiji had been right, He noted with horror as soon as he looked up. Sitting before him on a throne made from bone, ookami hide and raven feathers, was the lord of this citadel. At first glance he appeared human until you noticed the other markings.

Unlike the lesser Karasu-youkai under his command, he was able to appear human. His wings still mantled his back and were a beautiful, gloss black. His hair ran to his ankles and was also a gloss black. His robes appeared to be of the finest silk, most likely woven from a silk spider youkai, and were silver and black, the pattern eye catching and chaotic.

His eyes were deep, pools of silver and strange, black marks ran from the corner of either eye to disappear in his hair. He was a rather handsome creature, and that made him all the more frightening. The closer a youkai could get to human appearance, the stronger it was.

Flanking him were two coyote youkai, both female. Both stood completely upright like a human, but both still had the heads and fur of their race. Both also wore fine silk to cover their bodies, though not very well.

Standing behind them in the shadows was another Karasu-youkai; this one appearing much like its master and only the taloned hands differed in appearance.

That was all he was able to observe before one of his two captors hissed at him and kicked his side. He averted his eyes from the creature before him, deciding now was not the time to pick a fight.

Two more bodies were thrown beside him. He glanced over to see Shikamaru and Temari, both tied up. Shikamaru was bleeding badly from several gashes in his left arm and Temari appeared to be unconscious.

"Sith si la Retsam." The coyote youkai who had dropped Shikamaru reported.

Genkaku sighed in relief at the statement. The others had gotten free, granted they hadn't been trapped in a tent during the initial strike. There was still hope for a rescue.

* * *

There was alot about this little short story I didn't like, so after much debate I finally decided I was going to change it, and that makes it a massive overhaul. Hopefully if all goes well I will manage to make all the changes with no one the wiser but if someone ends up where they shouldn't be, it's probally beacuse I missed them in the rehaul. It was this debate, and my posstions as guild and raid leader of my WOW guild, that has slowed this bit down.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto

Chapter 2

Slaves to a Youkai

"Sith si la Retsam." The coyote youkai declared.

The Karasutaiyoukai stood up and took two steeps forward, his two coyote females doing the same.

Temari was awoken rather gently, and that took him by surprise. Youkai were generally not gentle creatures. With everyone awake and able to hear what was to be said, the Karasutaiyoukai stepped forward to stand before him.

"Ou kaeps ruo egagnal evals?" The taiyoukai asked in a deep, calm, voice.

"Se." He admitted.

"Yeth od ton?"

"Se." He answered again.

"Etalsnart." The taiyoukai commanded.

"Temari, Shikamaru."

They turned to face him, even if they could not see him.

"We are in a room with the Master of this citadel. He commands me to translate for him."

Genkaku almost expected to be punished for speaking out of turn, but that didn't happen. Instead the taiyoukai stopped in front of him first and began to speak. Genkaku translated.

"_Each of you will be tested for your abilities, and then placed within my empire accordingly until such a time as you have learned your place, your master shall be the one who brought you in. Please me, and you may rise, displease me, and you will fall."_

Genkaku did not like that translation at all. At least it seemed they were safe from torture for the time being.

"_Take them away, leave the female."_

"Se, Retsam." The others chorused back.

Genkaku glanced at Temari as he quickly translated what was going on to the others. Both her and Shikamaru went ridged.

"Evael eth yob ot etalsnart."

"Se."

"I am to stay to translate." Genkaku added.

That seemed to calm them down a little.

Shikamaru was dragged to his feet and pushed out of the room. Genkaku did not doubt that he would probably not see him again until after they were either freed or dead.

"_Females are a rare find. A valuable commodity to my empire you will be._" Genkaku translated for Temari.

He did not like the smirks the youkai in the room had.

"_Special training will be giving to you._" The taiyoukai turned to the coyote-youkai who had brought Temari in. "_See to it she is well taken care of. I do not want any harm to come to her. I expect her to be productive._"

"Se." The youkai bowed.

Genkaku glanced back to Temari, who had gone as ridged as he had, no doubt having come to the same conclusion about what the taiyoukai meant by 'being productive.'

His own captor dragged him to his feet. He grinded his teeth as the barbs from the whip tore more skin. He was pushed down the corridor until he was surrounded by utter darkness. Only then was he finally released. He whimpered slightly as more skin was pulled as the barbs were wrenched out.

"_Come_." Came the command.

"_I can't see_." He responded.

Since he was completely blind, he didn't see the blow coming and was on the ground clutching his face, blood trickling down it from were Karkla's talon had scratched his cheek.

"_You will end all sentences with Master, slave._" Karkla commanded.

"_How unoriginal._" He muttered to himself.

"_Speak up slave._" Karkla commanded.

"_I said it's unoriginal._" Genkaku said louder.

He braced himself for the hit that was sure to follow, but it never came. Since he couldn't see, he didn't see Karkla's head cock to the side.

"_You have something better slave?_"

Genkaku had expected to be hit again, not asked an opinion. He thought quickly.

"_How about Karkla-sama? In my language 'sama' means Lord._"

He had thought about lying and adding 'chan' or something derogatory like 'jiji' or 'bozo', but decided against it. All it would take was one creature that spoke his language to ruin that and earn himself one hell of a beating.

"_Very well._" Karkla finally agreed, much to his surprise. _"Come._" Came the command again.

"_I can't see, Karkla-sama._" He pointed out again.

Something tapped the band on his forehead and the tunnel lit up in a strange, green light. Karkla was standing in front of him and the other karasu-youkai who had caught him was standing behind him.

Karkla turned his back to him and started walking. He followed, noticing the place was a labyrinth of tunnels and he was quickly lost. Karkla led them up and down many shaft until he was hopelessly lost.

He noticed ladders had been carved in the stone of the shafts and had passed coyote-youkai climbing them. He had been carried by the other karasu-youkai to speed the trip up.

"_This floor will be your home_." Karkla declared as the other youkai set him down before flying off.

This hall had lights floating along the walls, he assumed they were similar to the chakra lights they used in Seika, and was lined with doors made of cloth. He assumed these were living quarters.

Karkla led him down the hall before stopping before a door with strange symbols carved into the wall above the door. Karkla parted the cloth and walked in, Genkaku followed him in.

The room wasn't spacious, but it was bigger then his room at Sanctuary. Floating lights that brightened as they entered also lighted the place. There wasn't much to the room. A nest of pillows and blankets made Karkla's bed. A table with one chair was in the center of the room. A bookshelf full of books and scrolls was on the wall opposite from the nest. A small chest was at the end of the nest. A rack hung on the wall next to the door that was currently empty.

The room was a mess. Scrolls and books littered the table and floor. Bones from previous meals were everywhere. Clothes were strewn about. Even the bed was a mess.

Karkla dropped his gear on the floor and marched up to his chest. Genkaku averted his eyes at the now naked youkai and didn't open them again until he felt Karkla's presence before him.

"_I will tell you your duties once slave._"

"_Clean the room_?" Genkaku hazard.

He quickly covered his face as Karkla raised a talon. Instead of a backhand, Karkla pushed him against the wall and spun him about until he was facing said wall. He yelped in pain as his wounded wrist touched the wall in an effort to steady himself.

He remained frozen to the spot as Karkla tore his clothes off of him with his talons, winching every time his talons sliced skin, until only his underwear was left. He hissed in pain, but refused to scream.

"_Your smart mouth will get you into trouble slave._" Karkla hissed. "_Understand_?"

"_Yes, Karkla-sama._" He answered through clenched teeth.

"_This room will be spotless by the time I come back. Come._"

Genkaku removed himself from the wall, walking gingerly and clutching his wounded wrist, which was now swollen and not looking good. Karkla led him to end of the hall if he left the room to his right.

There was a chute there and he could tell just from the slime covering the walls that it was for garbage before Karkla even told him it was. Karkla led him to the other end of the hall. He could hear the sound of rushing water before they even entered the room.

"_An underground river._" He noted. _"No doubt this is run off from the snow on the mountain top. They must have a fire up their melting it._"

This was to be the laundry room, bathing room, and drinking room. This was his only source of water. A glance around showed him at least two other slaves were already here, doing laundry.

He blinked, having not expected to see others. Both were human and both were male. Both completely ignored him, wore nothing more then a loincloth, and had scars crisscrossing their bodies from obvious punishment.

"_They are of no concern to you_." Karkla stated when the youkai noticed where his attention had wavered.

He was led back to the room and left with Karkla's promise of punishment if the room was not cleaned to his expectations. He was now alone. His first thought was to rush back to talk to the two other slaves, but he quickly tossed that aside. Fist he needed to deal with his wrist.

Finding scraps of cloth was not hard; his entire outfit was nothing more then shreds on the floor. He found a bowl somewhere in the mess and returned to the waterfall and pool, loaded down with all of the laundry. He might as well get it done while he was there. Both slaves were gone by the time he arrived.

He sat down, put a dried out peace of bone found lying on the floor in his mouth, and started on his wrist. The pain was astonishing and the bone quickly splintered in his mouth, but he endured. When he had scrubbed it as clean as he could he wrapped it up in several layers of cloth before tying it off.

It wasn't the worlds greatest, but it was all he had to work with at the moment. He cleaned up the small punctures all about his body from the whip before turning his attention back to the laundry and started to work on it. It wasn't easy to do with one hand, but he endured.

He didn't know how long he had, but he doubted the room would be spotless by the time Karkla returned. It wasn't until he walked in the room loaded down with wet clothes that he realized two things.

The first was that the night vision the band on his head granted turned off and on as needed; the second was that Karkla had left all of his weapons and armour on the floor where he had dropped them.

Genkaku quickly went through them. The whip, a bow, a quiver of arrows, two small knives, and the armour of braided feathers made the pile up.

He had no idea how to use anything but the knives, and they were far different from a kunai. He weighed his options. Without his chakra and one-handed he had a slim to zero chance of success if he assaulted Karkla.

Without two hands, he would never be able to climb the shaft and he had no idea where in the citadel he was. Attempts to escape at this point would be foolish.

Cleaning the place was exhausting and difficult when using only one hand. He didn't touch the books or scrolls that were opened and stacked the ones that were closed on the table.

The floor and table were grimy and took a lot of scrubbing to get clean, as did the dishes. He wasn't sure how long he worked, only that he was in the middle of scrubbing the floor when Karkla returned.

He froze, not certain what to expect. The room was half clean at best. Karkla looked around the room before settling his gaze on him. Genkaku was positive the youkai could hear his pounding heart from across the small room.

"_Come_." Karkla commanded.

Gulping, he set the scrap of cloth he had been using aside before getting up and following the youkai to the shaft. Another youkai was waiting for them. Once again he was flown between levels until they stopped on another floor, this one holding a single room with several desks.

To his surprise, Shikamaru and Temari were both there. Both Jounin were no longer blindfolded or gagged. Like him, Shikamaru was wearing next to nothing where as Temari was wearing a rather revealing, sandy coloured dress that was all but transparent. Shikamaru's arm had been treated better then his had.

"Genkaku." Temari greeted him. "What is going on?" She asked.

"I don't know." He admitted, walking up to join them.

"Where did you learn to speak their language?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's basic youkai. All children of Seika learn it. It's easy enough to learn as most of the words are just our own backwards."

"So evals is slave?" Temari asked.

"Right, and Restam is Master." Genkaku agreed.

"Figured that one out fast enough." She grumbled.

Another youkai walked in, this one in chains and appearing more like the cross between an owl and a human.

"_Another slave._" He noted.

"Be seated." The youkai commanded.

They each took a seat as instructed and shared a confused look.

"You will answer the questions on this test to the best of your ability." The youkai handed each of them a large bundle of papers, a pen, and inkwell. "You may begin."

For several seconds Genkaku stared at him in shock before remembering to translate for Temari and Shikamaru. They seemed just as stunned but all three of them did open up to the first page and he was thankful it was his left arm that was torn up and not his right.

(brake)

Temari frowned at the questions on the paper. She had been expecting some sort of interrogative questions, not an IQ test. It was pointless to pick a fight over something so basic as this and it did allow her to take her mind off of the situation.

After Genkaku had left the voice she had identified as the taiyoukai leader had spoken to her master for an extended length of time. Judging by the sound of the conversation and her master 'Es, Restem' answers, she figured he must have been receiving instructions.

Judging by what Genkaku had translated, human females were rare slaves and apparently she was worth something, though the comment about her being productive bothered her greatly.

The test was huge and by the time she finished, she was ready to sleep for a month. The strange owl like youkai gathered their test papers while their respective masters gathered them up.

She spared a glance at the two men, wondering if she would see them again before she was blindfolded once again and led out of the room. She was lost almost instantly as she was packed all over the place.

Her master was a karasu-youkai who showed amazing patience with her inability to understand him. When the blindfold was removed and the youkai carrying her set her down, she was back in the last room she had seen.

This creature was a strange youkai that looked like a giant rat with a strange, paddle like tail. Last time they had been here the creature had measured her neck. Now it held up a strange collar that had the hair on the neck rising in panic.

"What is that thing?" She demanded, trying to take a step back before walking into something big, furry, and very strong.

"Your task." The youkai behind her grunted.

She looked up to see what appeared to be ram, snow white fur and curled horns giving its race away. Had she seen one before, she might have called it a minataur.

"My task?" She demanded.

Her master began to speak and the youkai behind her translated.

"You are charged with the task of pleasing a male at night. Should you fail to please one before twenty hundred hours, you will be punished. Punishment will fall every hour after that one, the pain increasing exponentially until o-five hundred. During your time of cleansing you will be spared." The youkai translated.

"What?" She was caught between fury and fear.

She tried to move away from the approaching youkai, but the youkai behind her held her still with ease. She thrashed against him, trying to break free. She lashed out at the approaching youkai with her feet, doing anything and everything to fend him off. The strange creature stepped aside and moved right in next to her, making it too close to kick.

She retaliated with her head, trying to bite its fur-coated hands. She managed to get a hold of one hand. The thick fur prevented her dull teeth from doing much of anything to it. It ignored her teeth and snapped the collar around her neck. The youkai behind her let her go.

Her hands flew to the collar even as she spit fur out of her mouth. She tried to tear it off to no avail. It was skin tight and there was no sign of a clasp anywhere. Other then a hint of coolness from the collar, she felt nothing else coming from it. She gave up.

"Emoc." Her master commanded.

She had already discovered that word meant come. She ignored the order her eyes darting around the room for a tool to use. She spotted something promising and made a lunge for it.

The youkai behind her caught her before her feet had fully left the ground. She thrashed against it futilely. The youkai threw her over its shoulder and followed her master out of the room and back into the darkness.

She gave up fighting after they started to climb one of the shafts. She did not want to fall and the deprivation of her sight caused her a hint of panic. She was set down on one of the levels and only the looming presence of the towering youkai behind her kept her steady. At least she knew the shaft was behind her.

She walked slowly, one hand on the wall beside her and other held out in front of her. They walked for a while until her master threw back a door carved from bone and she had to blink her eyes to adjust to the sudden light.

It was a corridor with many bone doors. She was lead to the most ornament one at the end off the hall. Her master opened the door and she was led into a rather large room. Had she seen the one Genkaku's master owned, she would have found little difference save the size and a much larger stock of books and scrolls.

"Your masters quarters. You are to keep them clean. You will sleep here during your time of cleansing and after your fulfilling of your duty should you need a place to sleep." The Oushi-youkai translated for her as her master spoke.

"What is this time of cleansing you speak of?" She asked.

"When your body bleeds to renew itself." The Oushi-youkai translated.

She had figured he had meant her cycle, but just wanted to be sure. Her duties were the same as Genkaku's as far as pleasing her master went; it was the other half she was to fulfill at night that had her hackles up.

Like hell she would please some male because they commanded her to. She would sooner live with this promised punishment then bend her back for some youkai.

Like Genkaku, she was given a tour of the level, this one far richer then the other level. This one also had stairs and had four floors. It was explained that anyone on the four floors may request her services and she was obligated to fulfill them.

Like hell she would. That day would be a cold day in Jigoku indeed. She would sooner die then please these creatures. It was late by the time the tour was over and she was left in her master's room to start her duties.

Seeing as how escape was impossible right now, she opted for cleaning the mess up. Like hell she was going to live in a pigsty like this. It wasn't until later she noticed the collar on her neck had started to heat up. She ignored it. She was in the middle of stacking books when her body was racked with pain, causing her to cry out in shock.

She wasn't sure how long it lasted, but it felt like being electrocuted and was not very pleasant. She looked around the room and her eyes fell on the water clock on one of the bookshelves. It was twenty hundred hours.

"_So that was what they meant by punishment._" She noted rather dully. "_I can take it. If they think this will break me they have another thing coming._" She thought determinedly.

By oh one hundred she wasn't so sure she could take the pain. They weren't lying when they had said the pain grew exponentially. By the fourth punishment she was withering on the ground and screaming in pure agony, tears streaming down her face.

She lay on the floor, gasping after the pain ended for the forth time. She was curled up and crying. She had never expected it to be so bad. Her jaw was hurting from clenching her teeth and blood ran down her palms from where her nails had bitten into her hand.

"It is painful, is it not?"

She looked up at the Oushi-youkai and her master, both of them watching her with interest.

"It will be worse the next time, and the time after that." The Oushi-youkai walked up to her, shimmering as it did so until it appeared almost human.

It's eyes and the small horns, still curled like a rams on the side of his head, gave his heritage away. His hair was long, shaggy, and white, just like his fur had been. The rest of him appeared human enough.

She scrambled to her feet and backed away until she was pinned against the wall.

"The pain will grow until your screams will sooth the entire complex to sleep." The Oushi-youkai promised. "I can take that pain away if you let me."

"Leave me alone." She commanded in a rather shaky voice.

"If that is your will."

To her surprise the youkai backed off. She hadn't been expecting that.

"Sooner or later the pain will grow to be too much. If you wish to ease it, my room is the one across from your master's." He offered as he turned away from her and made for the door. "You will not be giving such a kind offer from the others. After nineteen-thirty you will be free game to any who wish to seek you. They will not accept your rejection. I strongly suggest you find a good roommate by then."

The door closed behind him and she turned her attention back to her master. He was still watching her and held out something for her to take. It appeared to be cloth of some sort.

Hesitantly she took it and unfolded it. It was a simple, light red evening gown of the finest silk she had ever seen. She quickly pulled it on to cover her near nudity. Her master pointed at the nest.

"Ile." She stated.

She would no sooner please him then the other youkai.

"Pels." The youkai stated and pointed again.

"Pels?" She asked.

"Pels." Her master commanded again, then held his hands clasped together and rested his head on them.

"Sleep." She finally translated. "You," she pointed to him, "want me," she pointed to herself, "to sleep," she mimicked his gesture, "there," she pointed to the nest.

"Se." He agreed.

She already knew that meant yes.

"I won't sleep with you anymore then I would sleep with him." She declared, waving her hand at the door where the other youkai had left.

His eyes furrowed as he tired to understand her, then laughed.

"On, on, on. ton ekil tath. Ou." He pointed to one side of the nest. "Em." He pointed to the other side.

"Ah." She clued in.

They would share the same nest, but nothing more. Her master returned to his true form, taking most of the nest up. She hesitated before joining him. It was surprisingly soft and warm.

She didn't fall asleep until after oh-five hundred when the collar quit punishing her for failing to please a male. As promised the pain grew worse each time until she was ready to break and seek the youkai across the hall just to end it, but she endured.

"_He is right though._" She thought grimly. "_Sooner or later my resolve will break or I will be caught unaware by the others. I can not last long living through this pain._"

It was not a pleasant thought. She silently hoped the others were not going through the same trials as she was. More so, she hoped rescue was on its way. She wasn't sure how long she would last until the collar finally broke her. If the pain she had suffered tonight was any indication, it wouldn't take long.

* * *

Another chapter down. More to come. Next chapter is probally one of my favorites.


	4. Chapter 4

-1Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto

The mix up of Japanese and English is driving me bonkers and it often doesn't flow smoothly in sentences; so from this point out only some words will remain in Japanese. For more info see below.

Chapter 3

Wolves

Meiyo cursed. Tsume and Kiba had separated, running in two different directions, no doubt in an attempt to shake pursuers. She knew Tsume could take care of herself and was tempted to go after Kiba, but her first loyalty was to her team.

With a heavy heart she set out after Tsume, Inuko, and Inuka. Keiji followed her silently, not making any sort of judgment call about her decision. The splotches of blood had her worried and she prayed they belonged to the youkai, not her friends.

He was beyond exhausted, very lost, and wounded. Akamaru whimpered from his side as Kiba stumbled through the snow. He was leaving a trail of blood he was positive the coyotes pups could follow, he certainly could, but none had shown up to confront him since they had crossed the frozen river. In fact, they had stopped and gone no further, howling their frustration to the wind.

Kiba figured they had passed the boarder and the coyotes would follow him no further, but that didn't stop him from putting as much distance between himself and the mountains as possible.

He was lost at the moment, but he was sure they could find their way back to Sanctuary. He would just have to make his way back towards the other mountain range, find one of the two rivers that meet at Sanctuary's entrance, and follow it back to the fort.

He pressed onward, freezing, tired, drained of chakra, and bleeding badly. His right arm was dangling uselessly by his side, broken and torn from one of the Karasu's whips.

He tripped over a log hidden in the snow and fell. Akamaru was by his side in an instant, whining in worry.

"_Kiba_!"

"I'm alright, Akamaru." He assured his companion weakly.

Stubbornly Kiba tried to crawl back to his feet, but failed. He was just too exhausted.

"_Get on_." Akamaru commanded, lying down beside him

Kiba sighed, and obediently climbed up onto his partners back. Akamaru stood up and continued forward, bearing his partner.

"We've had a lot of fun over the years, eh Akamaru?"

"_Yes_." Akamaru agreed.

"We've faced a lot of challenges and there were times I didn't think we would make it." Kiba continued.

Akamaru agreed.

"I don't think we are going to make it this time." Kiba stated.

"_We will_." Akamaru declared. "_We always manage somehow._"

"My arm is broken and bleeding badly. I don't think we are going to find a medic around here. Unless if one of the others find us, we are in serious trouble if those youkai come back." Kiba pointed out.

Akamaru admitted that Kiba had a point. He could not set nor bind Kiba's arm. That required human help. With Kiba's left palm shredded from tearing the binding whip off of him and his right arm broken and useless, he could not even treat himself.

The night was silent around them other then the crunching of snow under his paws. The sky was clear and stars shun brightly in the sky. It was a quiet night and almost peaceful. If it wasn't for the horrible situation they might have enjoyed it.

Kiba hadn't spoken in a while and Akamaru was becoming more worried for his companion.

"_Kiba_?"

No answer.

"_Kiba, wake up."_

"Humph." Kiba muttered.

"_You must stay awake._" Akamaru commanded.

"Cold…..tired." Kiba muttered.

"_Hold on Kiba. You must stay awake_!" Akamaru commanded, setting his human companion down as gently as possible.

Akamaru dug a pit in the snow, broke off several branches from the hemlock trees, layered them in the pit, pulled Kiba into the freshly made nest, and curled up on top of him for warmth while trying not to agitate the broken arm anymore then necessary.

"Akamaru….." Kiba thanked, his teeth chattering.

Kiba was covered in a dangerous amount of cold sweat, no doubt a lot of it the result from the pain he was in.

"_Stay awake Kiba._" Akamaru commanded.

"Tired." Kiba muttered.

More howling broke the silent night. Akamaru rose and stood protectively over Kiba, tail, ears, and hackles raised. His companion was in no condition to fight. Snarling, he braced himself for a fight, as the howling got closer.

This sounded different from the coyotes. This sounded like a song he knew from home, only with a strange accent. These were wolves. The first one appeared before him, black fur and golden eyes challenging him.

The others appeared around him, from pure white to molted brown to the pure black one that stood before him. There were sixteen in total. If they decided to attack, he stood no chance. Without him, Kiba would surly perish. He doubted the wolves would harm Kiba, but wolves had an inherit dislike for most 'domesticated' dogs.

"_Come play._" They sang to him, several of them yipping in excitement, though it wasn't the 'play' excitement as a common dog might mistake it for.

A usual tactic used to lure stupid, domesticated dogs out to the slaughter, to lure them away from the safety of their pack. He was no stupid, domesticated, mutt.

"_I protect my partner. Your pathetic lies will not work on me wolves. _ _I know your ploys and will not fall game to them._" Akamaru barked back, bearing his fangs in pure threat.

The wolves actually took a step back in surprise. They had clealy not expected this.

"_You protect a human._" The black one in the lead demanded.

"_I protect my partner._" Akamaru corrected.

The black wolf stepped forward and Akamaru let him walk up to Kiba unchallenged. The wolf would not harm Kiba. Wolves had no use for humans. They tasted horrible.

"_It smells of blood and coyote._" The black one declared.

"_We were attacked by youkai._" Akamaru confirmed.

The wolves spoke quickly amongst themselves. Akamaru didn't drop his guard the least. The black one looked at the only white one. The white one bolted away. Akamaru ignored her.

"_You say you fought Coyotes and youkai. Explain._" The black wolf commanded.

Seeing no harm and with much to gain, Akamaru explained the situation to the Alpha and his pack. Much fur was bristling and growls of anger broke the silence as he finished his tale.

Only the Alpha seemed calm, though his fur was also raised slightly to show his agitation. Since no one would attack a story teller in either wolf or dog society, Akamaru had returned to keeping Kiba warm, though he was still on his guard.

As a sign of truce, the Alpha had also laid down a scant few feet from him, listening to the entire story in rapt attention and silence. Now he was silently contemplating what he had heard.

Akamaru's head snapped up as he caught the scent of the returning wolf, and to his surprise a human scent as well. The white wolf returned and joined the Alpha. Following her wake was a human woman.

"Pearl said you found something interesting Kuro." The woman smiled as she walked into the clearing, completely at ease with the pack of wolves.

She was dragging a stretcher laden with blankets behind her and had a bag on her back. She had to at least be sixty, if not seventy! Akamaru was not sure what to make of her, but did allow the human to approach Kiba.

"What's he got?" She asked.

"_A broken arm torn up and his left palm is shredded. He is out of chakra and lost a lot of blood._" Akamaru answered.

"That bad huh. Sounds like you're a Nininu." She smiled at him.

The other wolves started to speak again, only Kuro and Pearl remained silent.

"_A shinobi huh. You should have said something sooner._" Kuro commented.

"_You never gave me the chance_." Akamaru responded.

"You going to fill me in on what's going on Kuro, or leave me in the dark like you always do." The human asked as she tucked Kiba onto the stretcher, tying him down.

"_I will pull the sled._" Akamaru offered.

Many of the wolves looked at him in disgust.

"Thanks pup. An old woman like me is easily exhausted and walking ten miles in deep snow wears me out." The human chuckled as she tied the rope into a make shift harness and Akamaru stepped into it.

Right now he was extremely vulnerable to attack, but if Kuro hadn't attacked him yet and had sent Pearl to get help, he doubted the Alpha would order an attack now.

"Would this have anything to do with the movement of the coyotes and the unusual number of crows in the region?" The woman asked as they set out.

"_Perhaps._" Kuro answered, filling the human in.

Akamaru was surprised at the relationship being shown. Kuro treated the woman as he would a grandmother of his own pack, with respect but demanding respect as Alpha of his own. He had heard of humans being accepted into wolf packs before, but had never actually seen it before.

"You wouldn't happen to be friends with a snippety young girl and a brown haired adult would you?" She asked Akamaru.

Brown haired adult? Genma!

"_Does the man go by Genma-san?_" Akamaru demanded.

"Could be. He hasn't woken up since I found him lying in the snow in his own blood."

"_Is he alright?_" Akamaru demanded.

"Hard to tell. You do not know the human girl then?"

It took a few seconds for Akamaru to recognize the description.

"_Nara Kageko_." He finally guessed.

"That's the name she gave." The woman smiled. "Smart mouthed pup she is. She has the brains to back her bark, but not the intelligence to know when to be quiet."

"_How was she?_" Akamaru asked.

"Bruised, tired, and drained of chakra, but otherwise fine. She found her own way to my hut by following the smoke from my fire."

"_And Genma-san_?"

"His entire body is covered in deep gashes, as if he had been rolling in a thorn bush. His left leg was torn up, I would guess from those damn coyotes. He was also suffering from minor frostbite but should make a complete recovery. I treated the wounds and bound them up. I used the last of my thread too." She muttered.

Akamaru looked over his shoulder to Kiba. No doubt many of his cuts would need stitches and it looked like their benefactor was out of thread already.

"Don't worry pup, your partner will be fine. I got plenty of other things I can use to stitch up those wounds of his." The woman promised.

The rest of the trip passed in a tense silence.

The small cottage that rose up before him surprised him. It was nestled in the forest on the edge of a frozen lake. Kageko rushed out to meet them as they arrived, picking up one end of the litter while the old woman gathered the other after cutting Akamaru free.

Akamaru followed them inside. Kuro and his pack remained outside. Apparently entering a human house was beneath a wolf.

Kageko and the woman set Kiba on the table and instantly stripped him of his clothes. Kiba's fingers and toes were a deep blue, almost black. Peeling the clothes off opened all of his scabbed over cuts, causing the blood to flow free again and nearly overpowering Akamaru's sense of smell.

Kageko cursed. Akamaru put his paws up on the table to get a better look. Kiba was covered in bloody cuts and his broken arm was purple, swollen, and not looking good at all. What was worse was that Kiba hadn't woken up at all despite the pain he must have felt from the disturbance of his broken arm.

"_Kiba_." Akamaru whined.

"It's best you don't watch this pup. Go check on your other friend." The elderly woman commanded softly.

Akamaru wanted to protest, but the look the elderly woman sent him changed his mind. He padded over to the next room, picking up Genma's scent and the smell of his blood almost instantly.

The Jounin was tucked into a small bed that must have belonged to the woman. Akamaru leaped up onto the bed and looked down at the man, sleeping deeply and looking very pale.

Sighing, Akamaru laid down to wait the rest of the night out in worry, whining every once in a while. The sun was just coming up when Genma stirred beside him. Akamaru stood up and turned to look at the man, who was blinking his eyes in a daze and clearly confused.

"Akamaru?" Genma croaked.

"_It's me_." Akamaru whined, even though he knew Genma didn't understand him.

"Is Kiba here then?" Genma asked, sitting up slowly and gingerly, winching in pain ever so often.

Akamaru nodded his head and whined again.

"Is he alright?"

"_He is hurt bad_." Akamaru whimpered.

Both looked up as the door to the room opened and the elderly woman walked in.

"_How is he?_" Akamaru barked.

"Relax pup, your partner will be fine, though his recovery will be slow. I managed to save his mangled arm, I was worried for a bit there. You should go outside and thank Kuro. He didn't have to send Pearl to come get me."

"_Is it safe enough?_" Akamaru asked apprehensively.

The woman laughed.

"If Kuro and his pack wanted to eat you, they would have already. He is alone. His pack has their own pups to care for you know and he has sent his fastest runners to warn the other packs and flocks of the danger." The woman assured him

"Flocks?" Genma asked, clearly confused.

"The ravens of course. They are the fastest messengers to spread the warning. I have no doubt Glide will have every pack and flock warned by evening."

"_Glide_?"

"The leader of the flock that is tied to Kuro's pack. Enough chatter for now. You need to speak to Kuro," she pointed to Akamaru, "and you need to eat and rest." She pointed to Genma. "And let an old lady have her bed for a few hours." She chuckled.

He stopped to check on Kiba on his way to the door. Kageko, looking half dead, opened the door for him and instructed him to scratch twice when he was ready to come back in. Sure enough, Kuro was waiting for him at the forest edge.

Akamaru approached him hesitantly, expecting a trap regardless of the human's assurances.

"_Your partner is fine?_" Kuro asked.

"_He will recover with much time."_ Akamaru answered.

"_That is good. Your warning of the movement of the coyote's and crows is appreciated. We will be able to prepare for them."_

"_There were others with us. More humans and two other Nininu."_

"_Glide has been informed and her flocks look for them from the sky as we search from the ground. Your human companion has mentioned it already."_

"_Your assistance means more to me and my pack then I can possibly express to you."_

"_Your warning of the danger at our dens entrances has saved many lives. It is us who should thank you. I must go_." Kuro declared, standing up. "_I have many packs to offer truces to and many others to make treaties with. It is rare that a truce between hunter and prey must be met, but at a time like this the balance is already threatened. I have much work ahead of me_."

"_I wish you luck on your hunting._" Akamaru bade.

"_If you are ever in this area again, I would like to hunt with you when times are not so rough_."

"_It would be an honor to do so._" Akamaru assured.

Kuro melted into the shadows; more silent then even Akamaru's own parents were at stealth. He envied the wolf briefly before scratching at the door. Kageko let him in.

Kiba was lying in a nest of blankets and furs in front of the stove set in the wall in the center of the house. The other side of the wall was the bedroom.

Genma was leaning against the wall to Kiba's right, nestled in blankets and furs, and eating a stew of some sort that smelt really good.

Kageko was loading more wood into the stove and boiling a kettle on top. Akamaru joined Kiba's side, lying between Kiba and Genma. He licked the Jounin's bowl clean when Genma set it down and accepted the pat on the head that went with it.

It was going to be a long day as he stood guard over Kiba, Genma soon joining the boy in sleep. Kageko was not too far behind, curling up in her own set of blankets. Akamaru remained awake in silent watch over his fellow shinobi least one of them have a complication in sleep.

Meiyo and Keiji caught up with Tsume and her partners as the sun was rising. There had been no sign of the youkai since midnight. With no sign of the others yet, Meiyo assumed the worse and they rested briefly before continuing on to Sanctuary.

It was late noon, the sun just starting to set, when a raven caught up to them and started cawing and flying in circles above them.

"Kannon?" Tsume hazard.

"Not our codes." Meiyo rejected, drawing a kunai and getting ready to kill the bird.

The raven landed in a branch above them, continuing to caw and fluttering to the next branch over.

"It wants us to follow." Inuka declared tiredly.

"A trap?" Nori asked.

"I don't think so." Keiji answered. "Ravens and wolves would be the natural enemies of Coyote's and crows. Since ravens and wolves travel together, I would bet Akamaru found a wolf pack and the leader of that pack sent his raven allies out too look for us."

"I though wolves hated dogs." Nori stated.

"They hate domesticated dogs, not nininu." Inuko answered. "And your theory is correct Keiji."

With fresh news of other survivors, a third wind was granted as they followed the raven through the forest until they came to a lake.

"There." Tsume pointed.

Across the frozen lake was a cabin.

"Wood smoke." Inuka declared.

"Blood. Lots of it." Inuko snarled.

They followed the raven across the lake. A trail of blood led into the cabin.

"Genma's and Kiba's." Inuko declared.

"I detect Kageko and Akamaru, and many wolves." Inuka added.

Meiyo pounded on the door. For several seconds nothing happened, then the door crept open a fraction then flew open revealing a haggard looking Kageko.

"Meiyo, Keiji, Tsume." She sobbed in relief.

"Kageko." Meiyo hugged her.

They all shared a hug, before Kageko invited them in. Genma was awake and returning a kunai to his holster. Akamaru was lying between Genma and Kiba, who appeared to be unconscious. An elderly woman was sitting at the table, grinding what appeared to be dried herbs.

"Looks like Kuro's scouts found you." The woman declared.

"Kuro?" Meiyo asked.

"The wolf pack that found Kiba and Akamaru." Kageko reported.

"Still no sign of Neji, Temari, Shikamaru or Genkaku?" Tsume asked.

"No." Kageko shock her head sadly. "All four were in the tent when the attack happened. I saw those damn Karasu drop coyote-youkai right on top of it. The likely hood any of them managed to get out is slim to none."

"_Dead_?" Akamaru asked in a whine.

"Perhaps." Inuko answered.

"Or perhaps not. If death were their intention would it not have been easier to light the tents on fire? Or rain arrows down upon us from the sky instead of engage us in hand-to-hand combat." Meiyo pondered.

"They certainly weren't raining death from above." Kageko agreed. "Nor did they try to go after us after several minutes of chase time. My hounds turned back after another cry lit up. A call to secure a capture perhaps?" She mused.

"It has a strong possibility. Usually the taiyoukai himself, or herself, partakes in the slaughter. There was no taiyoukai there last night." Keiji commented.

"So there is hope then?" Genma asked.

"A good chance." Meiyo confirmed. "Kageko is right. We were never pursued far, nor were they protecting their lands since we were deep into them before they attacked and no warning was giving."

"One can not wrap their mind around the thoughts of Crows and Coyotes." The elderly woman declared.

Meiyo blinked and only then really noting the elderly woman grinding her herbs, having dismissed her as a non threat.

"You are wise for such young pups."

"I am sorry. We are intruding on your house and hearth and haven't even thanked you yet." Meiyo bowed to the woman.

"Your warning of the danger at our dens in more then enough thanks. Kuro has already set out to warn the others."

"How is Kiba doing?" Meiyo asked.

"He will recover in time, but the recovery will be slow. For now rest is what he needs and time to let his bones mend and his blood flow. You must be hungry, please be seated and help yourself to some of the moose stew."

"Thank you, it has been a while since we ate." Tsume thanked.

Kageko handed out a bowl of the stew to everyone.

"My name is Meiyo. This is Keiji, Tsume, Inuko, and Inuka."

"You may call me Hanara." The woman smiled at them.

Kiba still hadn't stirred and Akamaru refused to leave his side. Tsume brought him a bowl of stew and checked on Kiba before rejoining the others at the table.

"What's the plan?" Keiji asked.

"We need to get a message to Sanctuary as fast as possible to call in reinforcements. I want both Kannon and Ino, if she will come. There is enough crows around here that I am sure they should be able to find a spy easy enough. With the two of them together they stand a better chance of finding information.

"With Shikamaru and Temari out of the picture, is it safe to assume Naruto will pick up the command?" She asked Genma.

He thought for a second before nodding his head in agreement.

"Inuko and Inuka stand the best chance of getting to Sanctuary the fastest. I want you to leave first thing in the morning. From Seika bring Uzumaki and Kannon, Zhina will remain in command. Warn the ANBU of the possible danger to Seika and to be on full alert.

"Naruto will most likely want to come and with reinforcements. Let him bring whomever he desires. Remember to ask Ino to come. Even if no one else from Konoha comes, I would like her to come."

"With Keiji-kun here I have no doubt she will come running at full speed." Tsume chuckled.

Keiji actually blushed.

Hanara had remained silent, continuing to grind her herbs through the conversation.

"Kageko, the fat please." Hanara asked.

"Of course."

Kageko took a pot off of the strove and set it on the table before Hanara. Hanara scraped the herbs she had grinded into the pot and started to whisk it into a thick paste.

"What is that?" Tsume asked.

"A healing paste to stave off infection. The pup and young whelp there have nasty cuts that are not looking good and I fear infection. Especially from the coyote's saliva." Hanara answered. "Kageko, it is time to replace the bandaging for the frost bite."

Kageko took a pot off of the hearth next to the fire, grabbed some fresh cloth, and moved over to Genma and Kiba. She treated Kiba first, removing the old wrappings around his nose, fingers and toes, cleaning the old oil off with a warm cloth before applying more of the stuff and wrapping them up again.

She turned to Genma next. He was silent through her ministrations and only hissed in pain as she treated him. He was lucky to have all of his fingers and toes considering the condition Hanara had found him in.

The cottage was small and with all of them bunking for the night it was rather crowded.

"My apologies for being such an infringement and I thank you for your hospitality." Meiyo thanked Hanara.

"Feel free to use my humble home to bunk your wounded and make your plans. I suspect you will have more allies in this then you think." Hanara smiled.

"More allies?" Tsume asked confused.

Akamaru's head snapped up suddenly even as Inuko and Inuka jumped to their paws, growling at the door.

"Wolves." Inuko reported with a growl. "Seventeen at least."

"_Kuro_." Akamaru barked and trotted to the door.

Akamaru pushed the door open and padded out. The others followed him but stayed by the door. Akamaru walked right up to the, black Alpha wolf with a white one by its side. Behind the two ranged several others, each bearing a pup in its mouth. In the trees was a large number of Ravens, many of them with drooping feathers.

Hanara walked out last, than gasped as she raced out to meet the wolves. It was then the others noticed the trail of red painting the snow.

"Kuro, Pearl, Glide, what in the great moon's name happened?" Hanara demanded as she fell to her knees next to one wolf who was barely standing.

"_They crossed into our range and started hunting. They hunt in packs larger then my own by many and the sky was black with their Karasu. Youkai hunt with them."_ Kuro answered.

Inuka translated even as Inuko raced to join Akamaru, approaching slowly to make sure she would be accepted instead of attacked.

Pearl set the pup she had been carrying down. The pup whimpered and tried to hide under her paws.

"_More shinobi friends?_" Pearl asked Akamaru.

"_Hai. They are warriors like me._" Akamaru confirmed.

"_Might I help_?" Inuko asked, approaching slowly and carefully.

Pearl regarded her for a moment, than gave her accent. Inuko wasted no time in taking a pup from the wounded ookami Hanara was looking at.

"I know you shun the structures of human's Kuro, but your pups will need the warmth and safety." Hanara offered.

Kuro seemed to think on it.

"_It is no different from a den."_ Pearl argued.

Kuro finally gave his consent.

If the small house had been crowded before, the addition of ten pups, three badly wounded wolves, and a score of badly wounded ravens made it difficult to move. Kiba and the three, wounded wolves were moved to Hanara's room at the back. They would not be moving anytime soon.

The ravens perched in the rafters or on the backs of chairs. The pups were nestled next to Genma in the corner. He seemed leery of them and the pups found him interesting. By the time they settled down, the pups had crawled under the blankets with him and were sleeping soundly. Genma's apprehension dropped when Pearl trotted up to check on the pups and showed no sign of discomfort with how close they were.

Hanara, on account of her age, kept her bed. The other humans found space on the floor to rest. With things so crowded Inuko and Inuka decided they might as well head out on their mission. It seemed time was an issue. If Kuro had been pushed off of his lands already it was only a matter of time before the youkai forces would reach the cabin.

Two of Glide's fasted ravens and one of Kuro's wolves accompanied them just encase if they came across any problems. The sun was rising by the time the last wounded raven and wolf had been treated under Hanara's direction.

They had been looking for a threat to Sanctuary, and they had found it.

* * *

By far, my Favorite chapter of this series. I love it, love it, love it. The interaction between Kiba and Akamaru just make me jump in excitement every time. Originally Mieyo asked for more members from her teams to come, but I really wanted to cut back on the OC's and focus more on the original cast. So I got to work ahead and change all that to. I need to try and focus more on the mains, the only OC's that are suppose to really mater are Meiyo, Kannon and Keiji, but its so easy to get side tracked with your own characters since you don't have to keep them in someone else's set character mold.

The language change.

As mentioned above it was starting to just annoy me to have some common words in Japanese for no real reason, such as hai for yes. I use to like it but, but it dosen't always flow properly between the two languages. Not all things will be changed to english as the Japenese word is sometimes just more fitting so thier may be a time when I will use the Japanese word instead of the english, depending on rather the cultural calls out more for the official Japense word. Examples of some things that will definitly remain in Japanese.

Techniques, lets face it, they sound terrible in any other language.

Particular races that just don't translate well into English, such as Youkai. They are quite different from demons as we know them and I will keep the Japanese names for the youkai version of animals but use english for normal animals. Ie: Kitsune:fox Youkai:normal This will help with any confusion that may come up with this perticular arc where we are seeing both races to keep them seperate. Coyote isn't in the Japenese Dicitonary. This is most likely becasue they are native to North America and so no name would have been assighned to them as they would only be more recently introduced to the culture and the native name for the animal would have been used. A good example of this is Coka Cola, used world wide with no translations into any specific language.

Affixes and tittles. Affixes have a huge impact on the society and what affix is used can have a huge impact on the mood and even meaning of a conversation. Titles, such as Hokage, also fall into this area as it is cultural.

Suna for the sand under gara's control, sand for everythign else. So intead of Suna castles, it's back to sand castles. Honestly suna castle just sounded wrong and I hated that whole area back in Treks.

If anyone has a suggestion for a name for the coyote-youkai that would be appreciated. I don't want to keep calling them Coyote-Youkai, it's just too, damn long. I was thinking something like, Coykai, except that sounds stupid. I don't want to use Ookami because that is a wolf and would be like calling a lynx-youkai a Neko.


End file.
